LBL 312, 133, 134, 157, 157 unmarked

Boog2001

Family Adventurer
So my plan for camping and trail riding is to completely explore the Land Between the Lakes. I took a Saturday drive with the family on August 11th. This was the first 'offroad' trip I've taken since installation of the lift. The trip started with pavement at the north end of the trail coming in on 100.

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We then turned off on 312 which was a 1 to 1.5 based on the trail rating guide.
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We stopped off at the Woodlands Nature Station with the kids and then connected to 134 which is a paved road and follows the Lake Barkley side of LBL south.
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Next we stopped off at Energy Lake Campground to scout out some camping sites for future stays. (The wife is requiring somewhere with showers as mandatory at this point...working up to backwoods camping) Then as we continued south on 134 there are several 2 to 2.5 roads based on the trail rating guide, that lead down to the lake.
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We opted to explore 157. This was high on the 2.5 rating as there were significant ruts and loose rocks that led to me switching to low range for ease of travel. When we reached the lake we found an old homeplace with a basement and retaining wall that led down to the water.
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We spent some time there on the water's edge, skipping rocks and enjoying the view. On the way back out of 157, there was an unmarked trail that dog-legged off to the left. This trail was potentially a 3 without rocks being present. This appeared to be an old logging trail with significant brush buildup in places and some serious ruts...(when I found them I turned around as I'm not quite equipped for that yet). I have a video that I'll post up soon as well.
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We ended with a cruise around the Elk and Bison prairie. All in all, it was a great trip. Kids and the wife approved and we hope to get out and do this again very soon.
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4runnerteq

Explorer
Thats cool man. I was working on the 11th but was there on Sunday. Long as its as cool as it has been Im up there about every Sat or Sunday with the mountain bike. Few weeks ago there were 6 or 8 Jeeps lined up at the North Welcome Station. Labor Day will be packed up there but if plans were made pretty quick. I went on 303, 304 & 305. Turned around on all of em due to what i thought too deep a mud hole or ruts to attempt alone. Prolly would have been ok but, better safe than sorry. Didnt even have the hi lift with me.
 
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rkj__

Adventurer
Cool. I was considering a trip to LBL this fall, but decided against the 12h drive. It sounds like a fun place though.
 

BirchHill

goat farmer
Looks like fun! Living in ky LBL is on the list of places to visit. So, were did you get the information on the ratings of the individual roads?
 

Boog2001

Family Adventurer
I used the rating guide from offroadtb.com and made my own conclusions.

Hoping to get out this weekend and drive some more on Sunday.
 

Boog2001

Family Adventurer
How did you decide which trails to take? Did you know before hand which were paved or unimproved?

Sorry for the late reply. The map indicates paved road suitable for passenger car, gravel road suitable for passenger car, road not maintained for passenger cars, and administrative roads.

157 was indicated as not maintained.
 

4runnerteq

Explorer
Just a heads up. The LBL 200 is this weekend. They allow 200 Motorcycles to run the North Sout and other trails. They do help groom them up pretty good, but have to be careful on the roads as you can come up on them pretty quick if not expected.
 

BobA

Adventurer
Thank's for sharing. I've been exploring out there for years and still haven't seen it all.
 

midtnexplorer

New member
Nice, I am going to have to get up there and explore. I lived up there for a while, but never really explored the park.
 

realwarrior

Realwarrior
One of my favorite places. I've been there more times than I can count. There are alot of old homeplaces, cars, etc, on the place. A great family trip!
 

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